SHILLONG/TURA: Most of the shops in the city’s two economic nerve centres, Bara Bazar and Police Bazar, and other localities remained closed on Wednesday owing to the rally organised by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The KSU organised a public meeting at Motphran where pressure group leaders appealed to the indigenous community to stay united in their opposition to the bill, which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from three neighbouring countries.
With a banner reading ‘People of Meghalaya oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016′, the union members raised anti-bill slogans as they marched from their office in Jaiaw to the Motphran parking lot.
Samuel Jyrwa, chairman of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), said, “India is using the northeastern states as buffer zones with China, Burma and Bangladesh on the other side… the Indian government is interested in extracting minerals from North East such as oil from Assam, uranium from Meghalaya.”
KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar reiterated the slogan “Khasi by blood, Indian by force” and warned of heightened violence if the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha.
Marngar, while suggesting that the Centre should burn the copy of the bill, referred to the comment of a social activist from Assam who had said the North East “will demand to be separated from India if India forcefully passes the CAB in Rajya Sabha”. “If the Indian government does not respect the identity of minority tribals, it is better for India to declare Meghalaya and northeastern states as no longer under the administration of Hindustan government,” Marngar said.
Sadon Blah, a Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) leader, said the bill seeks to persecute the minority community and “we should outrightly oppose the bill and not seek any sort of exemption” as “it is an effort to fulfil the concept of Hindustan”.
“If India is so generous towards others, it should draw the attention of the United Nations Organisation and other countries of the world about the rogue states and terrorist states if there are religious persecutions in these countries,” he added.
Garo Students’ Union (GSU) president Tengsak Momin seconded the other leaders saying the bill, if becomes a law, “will wipe out the North East people, which will be like genocide”.
“The National Register of Citizens was followed by the CAB as the BJP felt they are losing out on their vote bank,” said FKJGP president Wellbirth Rani.
President of Synjuk Seng Samla Shnong Ricky Pathaw said public representatives “are not serious about CAB” and “people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan should be sent to mainland India instead of the North East”.
The shutdown in Shillong, Tura and other parts of the state was despite the High Court order banning strike, bandh and hartals in Meghalaya and a recent reminder by the East Khasi Hills district police.
In West Garo Hills, Tura witnessed complete shutdown owing to the Non Cooperation Movement (NCM) called by the All Garo Hills Joint Action Committee (AGHJAC).
Shops at Ringrey Market and Main Tura market downed their shutters for the day but there was no restriction on plying of vehicles. Hallidayganj and Rajabala in West Garo Hills were the only places where shops did business and traffic was normal.
Attendance by employees in offices in Baghmara of South Garo Hills was low as more than half of the staff remained absent. In Chokpot sub-division under the same district, offices remained open though there was minimal attendance.
The situation was the same in Williamnagar in East Garo Hills, Ampati in South West Garo Hills and Resubelpara in North Garo Hills where shops were closed and vehicles remained off the road.
However, there was no report of violence or any untoward incident.
